CD Review
Rory Block
"Confessions Of a Blues Singer"
Rounder Records (11661-3154-2)
by TR Marshall
Review date: January 2000
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1999 KBA Award Winner
Achievement for Blues on the Internet
Presented by the Blues Foundation
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`W.C. Handy award winners are rewarded for their efforts for a very simple reason: the artist has been determined by the panel to be recognized as the "Best" in the respective category. This year's two time winner in the Traditional Blues Female Artist of The Year category is this effort by Rory
Block. She has been among the best interpreters of the Delta and acoustic/slide Blues style since the mid-seventies with the release of The Early Tapes, 1975-76, and continues to release exceptional examples of the style with each album. It's considerably easier to cover inadequacies in talent, technique and presentation when backed by several members of a band or a studio production. But here, on most selections Rory backed by only piano or guitar has nowhere to hide and the beauty of her talent is evident. Every listening brings a deeper appreciation of her passionate love for and delivery of material. It's been said "many are called, few are chosen" and as I listen to "Confessions" while writing this, it seems an appropriate reference to her enormous talent. From her tasteful mastery of bottle slide on the opening cut, Robert Johnson's "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day", to an almost ten minute mini-biography, "Life Song" which closes the disc, Rory is absolutely and firmly in control. Whether singing the songs of others or performing her own she imbues every
selection with a sense of importance, almost as if it has taken on a special quality because she has performed it. For fans of country blues this disc is probably already in your collection, if not, it's just a matter of time. Anyone wanting to know where to start in the appreciation of the country blues style this release is a must!
This review is copyright © 2000 by TR Marshall, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.
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